Thunderstorms and torrential rain triggered deadly flash flooding on Friday along the Guadalupe River in south-central Texas, killing at least 13 people and leaving more than 20 girls from a summer holiday camp missing, according to local authorities.
The US National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency for parts of Kerr County, located in south-central Texas Hill Country, about 65 miles (105 kilometres) northwest of San Antonio, following heavy downpours measuring up to a foot of rain.
Dalton Rice, city manager for Kerville, the county seat, told reporters the extreme flooding struck before dawn with little or no warning, precluding authorities from issuing any evacuation orders.
A man surveys damage left by a raging Guadalupe River on Friday in Kerrville, Texas. Credit: AP
“This happened very quickly, over a very short period of time that could not be predicted, even with the radar,” Rice said. “This happened within less than a two-hour span.”
The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office reported 13 people were found dead in “catastrophic flooding” in the area.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick told a late-afternoon news conference that authorities were searching for 23 girls listed as unaccounted for among more than 700 children who were at a summer camp when it was swept by floodwaters about 4am local time.
Most of the campers were safe, authorities said, but they could not immediately be evacuated because roads were made impassable by high waters.
Water rises from severe flooding along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, Texas on Friday.Credit: AP
“Everybody is doing everything in their power to get these kids out,” Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the top elected local official, said at a news briefing on the disaster hours earlier.
